Merging of Ways
by wildchild494
Summary: Draco Malfoy betrays his own family to join the Order of the Phoenix. Friendship no one expects starts to grow.
1. Default Chapter

"The Merging of Ways"  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Spoilers: This is my own version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Summary: Draco Malfoy betrays his own family to join the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Chapter One: Hidden Secrets  
  
The Malfoy Manor was dead silent, save for the soft sound of footsteps treading through the dim corridors that seemed to have no end, stretching on into the darkness.  
  
Draco Malfoy had resided in the Malfoy Manor for exactly fifteen years, and he had yet to unveil the many secret passageways, and rooms that composed the large mansion. And that time of discovery started now.  
  
The Manor was empty of any living beings except for himself, and the house- elves that lurked in the shadows, awaiting his orders. The good thing about house-elves was the fact that they would do anything for their masters. And right now, Draco wanted to be left alone.  
  
He came to a halt in front of golden-knobbed door, and he smartly snapped his fingers. A house-elf scurried out from behind a sculpture of one of his ancestors, trembling from head to toe in terror.  
  
"Dante, I don't want anyone bothering me until," he checked his silver Rolex (apparently Draco adored designer Muggle things) "5:00 p.m." That gave him an hour of foraging his father's office. Dante nodded fearfully, and vanished from his sight.  
  
After Voldemort's rising that had taken place during the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year at Hogwarts, a number of Aurors had gotten their hands on his father, and had him incarcerated in Azkaban. Lucius had made no protest at his imprisonment, satisfied at the fact that he had proved his loyalties to the Dark Lord, whom, according to the rumors was currently in hiding, waiting for the right moment to strike.  
  
Narcissa, on the other hand, was trying her best to get her husband out of Azkaban. And the only time she was in the house was to catch a few hours of sleep, eat a bit, and she would disappear again. It was either she was with her friends wasting her money, or she was at the Ministry of Magic, bribing officials.  
  
A part of him was ashamed of his parents, but another part of him was proud of the kind of blood running through his veins. Pure blood. The Malfoys were one of the most respected, or rather, feared for families in the wizarding world, and it gave Draco a sense of superiority and power that he enjoyed.  
  
'But none of that matters now," Draco thought with a grimace. Ever since his birth, his father had high hopes of his son following in his footsteps. Becoming one of Voldemort's loyal followers. Becoming a pride in his father's eyes. A Death Eater. 'And look where you are now, father.' Draco thought in disdain. If he followed Lucius' footsteps, he was bound to end up in Azkaban. And that was one of the many reasons on why Draco did not want to be a Death Eater.  
  
He shook his head, clearing it. He had a very important task to accomplish today. And that was to scavenge his father's office. Draco was going to play detective today. Finding clues to what Voldemort's been up to. And the only place those evil plans could be concealed in was Lucius' office. And what exactly was he going to do with those plans?  
  
'Hand them over to Dumbledore,' Draco answered in his thoughts. His insides churned...if Lucius ever found out that Draco was betraying, not only his father, but the Dark Lord and his followers...he shut his eyes for a split second. 'It doesn't matter,' he thought, trying to convince himself. 'It doesn't matter if Voldemort kills me himself . I have nothing to live for anyway.'  
  
And with those bleak thought firmly plastered in his mind. He pushed open the door and started his search.  
  
*** Number twelve, Grimauld Place was an ancient house that once belonged to the Black family. Now, however, it was being used as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. And it wasn't very clean either.  
  
Today they were cleaning out the storage room, which was practically overflowing with antiques, and a large number of useless junk kept inside cardboard boxes, and plastic paper bags. They had spent the last fifteen minutes emptying the contents of a particularly big closet. And it wasn't something to be considered as fun.  
  
But to Harry Potter, who had spent more than a few miserable weeks at Number Four, Privet Drive, this was an amusement park compared to living with the Dursleys.  
  
"Why do we even bother cleaning this room, anyway?" Ron whined pulling out a crinkly robe that was yellowing from age out of one of the many drawers of the antique closet. "It's a storage. It's simply just going to get dusty all over again."  
  
Mrs. Weasley shot his son a look. "This is the least we can do for the Order. Keeping the house spic and span."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry once his mother turned around. Harry grinned. There were only a few days left until term started, and Harry couldn't wait to see Hogwarts again. Especially after his narrow escape from the Hearing, the day before. He couldn't have been more happier.  
  
After a few more minutes of cleaning, dusting, and setting the storage room in order, Mrs. Weasley announced a break. The Weasley twins, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry heaved a tired sigh of relief, and exited the storeroom without a backward glance. Fred and George looked at each other, winked at Harry, and hurried up the stairs to their room, where they were most probably creating their newest invention.  
  
"There's some pumpkin juice in the kitchen, if any of you are thirsty." Mrs. Weasley proclaimed before disappearing through the kitchen door.  
  
"Let's go get some, I'm parched." Hermione said, wiping her forehead with a pink handkerchief. The four of them made a beeline for the dining table, where a tall pitcher of pumpkin juice was waiting to be drunk.  
  
Ginny reached out and poured a glass for each of them. "Thanks Ginny," Harry said, downing the glass in three gulps.  
  
It was then that they heard the front door close shut. And the sound of several voices conversing with one another filled the air. Harry vaguely caught the words 'plans,' 'Azkaban,' 'stay,' and 'Malfoy.' They soon faded, and the sound of another door closing shut told them that they were in the Drawing Room. The place where the Order's meetings were usually held.  
  
The four of them exchanged wide-eyed looks with one another. "Did you hear that?" Ron whispered from under his breath. The other three of them, automatically leaned closer, their heads almost touching.  
  
"Something about unknown plans..." Hermione trailed off, her brow furrowed in anxiety.  
  
"I don't know about you guys, but I distinctly heard the name Malfoy in that conversation." Ginny said, the dislike evident in her tone of voice.  
  
"Yeah, I did too." Harry said with a nod, furtively glancing out the kitchen door. By this time, the whole house had fallen deathly silent. The meeting was probably starting. "What do you think that means?"  
  
"I don't know," Hermione said truthfully gazing at the closed door at the end of the dimly lit hallway. "But I doubt its anything good."  
  
"Anything with the name Malfoy is obviously nothing good," Ron declared, frowning.  
  
Harry simply nodded in agreement. There was something strange going on. Even before meetings, some members of the Order would chat with them even for a short while before going into the Drawing Room. Apparently, that wasn't the case for today. It must be something very important that they needed to discuss it right away.  
  
A/N: Please, please review!!! 


	2. Betrayal

"The Merging of Ways"  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Spoilers: This is my own version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Summary: Draco Malfoy betrays his own family to join the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
A/N: This story (yes! The whole story!! Not just this chapter!!!) is dedicated to my cousin: I wanna be a pastry, since she's the only one reading my fic...and the only reason on why I posted this chapter...  
  
Chapter Two: Betrayal  
  
Draco sat on the edge of his tailored canopy bed, staring apprehensively into the gleaming embers of wood that lay beneath the blazing fire. The glinting silver that framed the fireplace reflected the dancing flames, making the whole presentation extraordinarily entrancing.  
  
It was almost seven in the evening, and he had barely eaten any dinner. The thoughts of what he just done hours ago was enough to make the contents of his stomach rise up to his throat.  
  
As he expected, his father's office was the right place to scavenge for any information regarding Voldemort and his associates. The letter flashed in his head. He had found it placed neatly on top of the elegantly-polished desk that stood in the center of the high-ceilinged office. The flap of the packet had been opened trimly, and Draco had guessed that his mother must've read it, considering the fact that his father was in Azkaban.  
  
He could vividly recall the contents of the formal-looking envelope...  
  
Lucius,  
  
We are recruiting every Death Eater that resides in London. The Dark Lord is relying on our faithfulness and allegiance to his commands. The Ministry is getting restless, we must be on our guard. The preparation is almost complete.  
  
Bellatrix Lestrange  
  
The second he had finished reading the letter, he had snatched one of Lucius' parchments and wrote a hurried letter to Dumbledore, explaining the situation he was in, how he was willing to betray his own father for the sake of good. He had, of course, attached Lestrange's letter with his own and quickly sent off his own owl to wherever Dumbledore was presently located.  
  
Betrayal. Infidelity. Unfaithfulness. Disloyalty.  
  
The words rang in his head repeatedly, like a resonating echo. Draco knew the punishments for such abominable acts. It was either eternal torture, or worse: Death. 'No wonder Snape acts like a surly git.' He thought dryly. Severus Snape, used to be one of Voldemort's followers, one of the Death Eaters even.  
  
And now, where was Snape? Allying with the good.  
  
Draco could only hope that Dumbledore would grant him absolution for his past iniquities. He was ready to turn over a new leaf. Even if that meant facing his family in battle. 'The family who made your life a living hell.' Draco's eyes flashed against the glinting silver frame of the fireplace.  
  
'But is that the real reason, Draco?' A voice in the back of his head asked, in a mocking voice. 'Are you really jumping into the lines of the good? Or are you simply doing this to save your own skin?'  
  
A sardonic smile flitted across his face. "Maybe a bit of both," he said aloud. Anyway, there was nothing he could do now. He had made his decision and had already sent Dumbledore his messages.  
  
The damage was done.  
  
And as the Chinese believed: 'Every crisis is an opportunity.' Maybe this was one of those moments. Not only did Draco get a chance to redeem himself through becoming 'good', he would be safe from the menacing pretenses of Azkaban.  
  
'No. That's not it.' Another voice piped up. 'You simply hate your family and what they force you to do. What they want you to become.'  
  
"Yeah, that too." He drawled, just as his eagle-owl, Thoth (named after the bird-headed god of wisdom and writing) soared into his bedroom. It perched itself on top of an unlit candlestick, blinking at him with its golden- brown eyes. A scroll of parchment was tied to it's right leg.  
  
"About time," he murmured under his breath glancing nervously at the window. As his father had said before when Draco was young: 'Once someone betrays his own blood, his blood relatives would soon know. And they won't hesitate in hunting you down.' A shudder ran down Draco's spine, as he rapidly untied the letter.  
  
Dear Mr. Malfoy,  
  
I am pleased to hear that you have chosen to do what is right. I will be sending a few people to escort you out of Malfoy Manor. It is critical that you get out of there now. Pack your things needed for school. You cannot stay there to any further extent for there is a high risk of danger tracking you down.  
  
With utmost respect,  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
It was short but it was enough for Draco. With another last look at the letter, Draco got up and promptly packed his things, throwing them into his trunk without another thought. He scanned his room for his Nimbus, and found it leaning against his bedpost. He grabbed it along with Thoth's cage, stuffing the protesting owl into it.  
  
Now all he had to do was wait.  
  
"Good evening Mr. Malfoy," a voice spoke from the wide-open window. Draco spun around, his heart thumping loudly in chest, half-expecting to see one of his father's comrades pointing a wand at him. But no. It was Professor Lupin. He was riding a broom, and was floating in mid-air along with two other people. One of which, he recognized as Alastor, or rather, Mad-Eye Moody. The other was a young woman with spiky blonde hair who was staring at him in interest.  
  
"Professor," Draco nodded, keeping his face neutral. Being in Slytherin, a number of teachers did not like him at all. Except for maybe, Snape. But that was different. He always favored his own House above all others.  
  
"Mind if we come in?" Moody growled, his electric blue eye spinning a whole 180. Draco took a step back, involuntarily. That eye seemed to stare straight through his head, straight to the back of his skull. A bit unsettling, really. And there was the small actuality that Mad-Eye turned him into a ferret in his fourth year at Hogwarts. Well, technically, that was the fake Mad-Eye, but nevertheless...  
  
"Be my guest," Draco spoke, making a sweeping gesture. The three of them flew in, and landed noiselessly on the black carpeting of his room.  
  
"Dumbledore informed us about your—turning," Lupin said, awkwardly. Draco nodded quietly, avoiding the Professor's questioning gaze.  
  
"As you must know, this is Alastor Moody." Lupin introduced the Auror. "And this is Nymph—ah, Tonks." He said, stopping in mid-sentence at the blonde witch's glare.  
  
"Nymph-a what?" Draco echoed, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"It's just Tonks," she said brightly, then glanced at the grandfather clock in Draco's room. "It's already half-past seven. I think it's best to get going."  
  
"Right," Lupin said briskly. "Mr. Malfoy--"  
  
"Call me Draco, please." Draco said politely. He was bred to have manners. Their family was practically royalty. Well, probably not, but close.  
  
"Draco, you have your broom? Good. Hand over your trunk to Tonks." There was a moment of shuffling around for the trunk first, then: "Ready? Let's go then."  
  
And they were off.  
  
It was a moonless night, and only dark thunderclouds floated along with them, making them almost invisible to the Muggles below them.  
  
A cool breeze wiped his face, and he was immediately glad that he had remembered to shrug on his coat. It was practically freezing, and the icy gray clouds had yet to decide whether it wanted to pour down a flood or not.  
  
They were flying for almost an hour now, and none of them had spoken a word, except for Moody who would simultaneously shout out directions to wherever they were headed.  
  
They were already descending by the time it started to drizzle. The droplets of cold rain sunk into his head, dampening his hair. Thunder resonated from above them, growling noisily, and that was when it happened. The sky around them flashed brightly for several seconds, illuminating the expression of fear on Tonk's face, and Lupin's worried face was the last thing Draco saw before he felt a shock of electricity prickling his skin.  
  
And he fell, his whole world growing black.  
  
A/N: You are most deeply obliged to review. Yes, I'm talking to you Ms. I wanna be a pastry. Because of if you don't, I will eat you. (you are a pastry, after all) Good day to you all! 


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